UTAH GOVERNOR'S ANNUAL GALA

UTAH GOVERNOR'S ANNUAL GALA FEATURES CIRQUE ELOIZE AND JBL VERTEC SPEAKERS IN THE ROUND

Once a year, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt holds his Annual Gala to thank his constituents and benefactors for their support. The 2001 extravaganza, staged in Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace on Friday, April 27, featured a formal dinner for 1700 guests, including SLOC (Salt Lake Olympic Committee) members. The Gala also showcased a performance by Montreal’s Cirque Eloize. The event was produced by the Excel Entertainment group with audio, lighting and technical support from Rocky Mountain Audio Visual, who employed their new JBL VerTec speaker system for the first time at a special event. Additional support was provided by Oasis Stage Werks and Mountain View Staging Services. (For pictures, click here.)

For the second year in a row, Excel Entertainment designed the show, hired the talent and Rocky Mountain AV won the bid for the crucial sound and lighting. With the limitation of the Salt Palace’s 30 foot ceiling and the challenge of an in-the-round performance format, Excel, Rocky Mountain AV and Oasis Stage Werks had some significant production challenges. Concert-quality sound was required, along with an extensive computer-controlled lighting system. And Cirque Eloize’s performance included trapeze artists with their highwires, which further complicated the vertical space challenge.

“The guests loved the in-the-round experience. The performance was great - most said it was the best ever,” stated Jeff Simpson, president of Excel Entertainment. “The sound and lighting system provided and operated by Rocky Mountain AV really let the circus performers shine.” For weeks prior to the event, the requirements of Cirque Eloize and the specifications of the room were scrutinized to create a production design that would transform a convention meeting room into a lush, bright circus atmosphere. Once designed, staging and lighting setup took two days. Rocky Mountain AV’s crew was headed by John Phillips (lead audio tech), Noah Bard (director of production), and Dan Allers (lighting director).

“The stage was in the center of the room, so we needed to provide 360° of coverage with low-profile speaker arrays mounted on the same rigging as the lights. The VerTec enclosures were just what we needed - small enough to allow us to have four sets of four speakers, while providing clear, full range audio with smooth, even coverage,” stated Michael Nelson, president of Rocky Mountain AV. “They were really the only speaker that would work for this event.”

VerTec Speakers from JBL Professional offer a very high level of audio performance in a compact, lightweight enclosure. Since each speaker is less than 20” tall, VerTec allows concert-quality sound to be attained even in low ceiling and other difficult venues. Sixteen VerTec enclosures were used, four on each corner. “JBL addressed all of the key important issues with VerTec. The science and physics behind the design are rock solid - the engineering is great,” explained Nelson. “All of the details about the sound, the rigging, loading into trucks, signal processing, software for calculating usage, even the owner’s manual are first rate. There is nothing better.”

In addition to JBL VerTec speakers, the production used over 70 robotic lights. The audio system was anchored by a Soundcraft Series 5 console and powered by Crown MacroTech amplifiers. RMAV relied on the DriveRack model 480 system controller from dbx to handle system drive functions.

Excel Entertainment Group is a Salt Lake City-based company with a wide range of specialties including artist and record label management, music and motion picture distribution and production of live events. Rocky Mountain Audio Visual provides a wide range of presentation, performance and production support. In addition to special events such as the Governor’s Gala, Rocky Mountain AV produces corporate shows and presentations, music festivals, arena shows, political events, award shows and other special events throughout the US. Their website is www.rmav.com.